got a noob question what is ATI? is that a company cause i cant find out what it is

yea they are a company
go to reefgeek.com
they sell ati fixtures and bulbs there

Here's ATI's own site:
http://www.atiaquaristik.com/index.php?start_english

thank you i need all the advice i can get. now, that i have two single bulb fixtures would i be able to keep hard corals? or like clams or anenomies

So really though, I'm going to buy some more bulbs to have around the house and play with the combos...here is what I'm thinking of to play with what I have now:

24W 6500K Daylight T5 HO Fluorescent - General Electric
24W 75/25 14000K AquaBlue T5 HO Fluorescent - UV Lighting
24W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent - ATI

I really want a WHITE look, not so much blue, or very hint of blue, like a MH HQI would give off.
I think my originals might do that and we'll see when I get sand and rock in there.
But the names all have BLUE in there, not WHITE?

Without seeing them plugged in, how do you know its going to be a white light or blue etc?
How do you read these lights spectrum pictures and know what will give you WHITE?

My 2 cents.... For a white, white with a tiny touch of blue...try this.

front to back:
ATI Blue+
GE 6500
Fiji Purple (distant 2nd choice UVL 75/25, low PAR and is PINK)
ATI Blue +

or just replace the ATI Aquablue with the GE 6500 and so:

ATI Blue+
GE6500
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue+

This Fiji Purple?

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluore..._Korallen_Zucht

Yup..thats the one. I use one in my mix and so do a few other people here. We all like it. It has sorta a slight purple/white look with great PAR. It mixes well with the GE and Blue+ I strongly recommend you try to keep the TWO blue+ in the mix, they really help your corals look nice and with the GE and either the aquasun or fiji you should be very close to what your wanting.

EDIT: I am not big on the 75/25 or the aquasun. Both are Pepto Pink with the 75/25 being VERY pink. Thats just me though. Many others like them.

Thanks! Will do.

Hey TriggerDude, I have a suggestion for you if you haven't tried it already.
Try moving the bulbs you alrdy have around in different configurations, you'll be surprised how different of a look you can get from doing that.
I have 2 Blue+, 1 Aquablue, and 1 Fiji Purple and I noticed yest. that when I moved the Aquablue to the front of the fixture it gave things a much whiter look.



On a different note, I just got a Sundial to replace my HL fixture.
I got it cause I wanted the lens cover, 2 timers and switches, legs, fan, and LED's that come with that fixture.
I'm disappointed in the reflector, which isn't as good as the HL one, but the rest of the fixture seems pretty cool.
One interesting thing that I've noticed is that with my bulbs in the exact same configuration as I had them on the HL fixture, I get a whiter look out of the Sundial.
Do you guys think this might be because of a different ballast?
I've looked all over but haven't been able to find what kind of ballast the Sundial uses as far the brand name.

Weetabix7,
What order should I put them in? I have the Blue+'s on each end...and the other two in the middle.
Do you know which sockets are corresponding to which of the two plugs? Like the ATI's have two plugs right, do the first two and then second two go together? I can find out tonight when at home, just wondering if anyone knows off the top of their head?

I don't have an ATI (believe me, I wish I did!) so I can't help on that.
As far as bulb order, try this from front to back:

Aquasun
Blue+
Aquablue
Blue+

It's ironic, but I'm having the opposite problem of you-- my new fixture has too white of an output for my taste.
I'm trying to decide whether to go back to the old fixture.

I will give that combo a try tonight!
Do we have the same bulb combo?

got my nep for my 40 breeder today, it's very bright, I already like it more than halides. I'm using the stock bu;bs until I can afford all ati's. I have some pcs in my bulid thread.

So, I have been reading through this thread and somehow convinced myself I needed to upgrade my lighting. I now have a 24” Current Sundial. I decided to be a copycat and replaced the stock bulbs with the bulbs Travis uses because I fell in love with the color. I don't regret it either, my hammer's tips are glowing. Now for a really idiotic question, does the order in which I place my bulbs matter?...Should they be placed a certain way?

I placed them this way (from the closest to the timers):

Super Actinic
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +

Thanks in advance!

Yes.... it can…. on some combos it makes a huge difference….some others....not so much. Your arrangement seems good to me. I might swap positions with the front Blue+ and front Actinic. But...move them around and see what looks best to you. Its free.

Weetabix,

I switched the lights, but still not seeing much difference, I think I really need to get my water and sand in there...some rock, before I can make decisions. I really need more WHITE though. I love the white.

The way it looks will change quite a bit once you get water, rock, and sand in there bro.

Ok, I figured so, I need all you guys to head over to my build thread and help me out with those next steps...water, salt, rock...etc...I have questions, NOOB questions.

Hey everyone, I have the TEK fixture on leg brackets and I have it 6 inches above the water. Is this too high?

Second....since there is no shield on the TEK how often do I need to wipe down the reflectors? So far it doesn't seem to get too much spray except where the overflow is. I've covered the overflow with a black plastic binder cover (I was using it to block out all light since Bryopsis invaded my overflow walls) and that has helped with the spray.

Also, what do I use to wipe down the reflectors and bulbs?

Last, I have dawn/dusk from 9am-9pm and the remainder from 1pm-7pm. Can you guys give me some examples of your photoperiods?

I've really gotten used to the colors and love my setup. Thanks!

i have my fixture hanging about 4" above the water surface..I dont really ever have any bubbles in the tank so in a months time have like 10-15 small bubble pops on my reflectors...When i clean then I usually wax the reflectors..so next time they clean easier.

So what do you use to clean them and what kind of "wax" do you use?

Also, what are your timers like?

mothers
Timers I have set to..when I get my ass home from work..and lights out when i take my ass to bed. That dusk dawn stuff is useless and basically only benefits you looking in the tank if you want to see it under actinics only

Why not just go to Lowes/Home Depot and buy yourself an acrylic shield for 6 bucks. Same as the one TEK sells but ONLY 15 times cheaper. I never like the idea of moisture/salt on my reflectors. Not long until stained/scratched reflectors, plus it’s just another task to deal with. Light reduction is insignificant, we all probably over light anyway.

Mark

I thought about that....and am I securing this to the light fixture? Or just putting covers over the tank? I think I read that Weetie glued some magnets on the acrylic so it would stick to the light fixture.

Sorry guys....I need kind of a step by step here. I'm not good at DIY.




Wut? I'm bad cause I'm a mom? You're shaking your head cause I'm a mom? Huh??

Oh no he di'int!
Lets get him Hazmat!!!

I didn't glue the magnets to acrylic, someone else did that, don't remember who.
You just get some acrylic, lexan or plexi, cut it to the right shape, get some Rare Earth Magnets (google for the site) and glue the magnets to the plexi with Gorilla Glue (I think). Pretty simple DIY, should work great.
When I had to wipe my reflectors down I just used an old washcloth and warm water.

Hazmat,

The TEK fixture is made to accept a shield. No magnets, mods ,etc. are necessary. Just get the right size acrylic and slide it in. I dont have TEK, but many others do and can offer specifics.

Got it...thanks!!


I can do that!! Easy enough.

I just switched out my aquasun for a fiji purple. Now im running blue plus, fiji purple, blue plus, and super actinic. People say this combo gives off low par but I actually been raising my fixture rather than lowering it and I have SPS. Right now its 20 inches from the sandbed and 8 inches above the water.

Now that's interesting.
I would think that combo would have a very blue look to it.
What fixture are you using?

I am running this same exact combo right now and love the color of my tank, although no matter what I do my pics look mad blue, but looks awesome to me

FRONT TO BACK
super actinic
blue +
fiji purple
blue +

I dont wanna change a thing at this point

why would you think you have low par..Blue+ has a par above 300 and the Fiji purple is over 300 as well..the super actinic is probably low 200 but thats still ALOT of par

True true. Well out of all the combos that I could have lol

Im using a Tek fixture. The look is definately not too blue. I will take pictures tomorrow.

cool..i would like to see
I am running
Blue+
Aquascience 15k
Aquablue special
Blue+

its still kinda white with a hint a blue..I was thinking of getting an aquascience 22k to replace the aquablue and try a fiji purple in the 15k slot see how it looks.

Weetie, you decided on putting a pro color with your next tank correct? because you commented on my plans when I had a pro color in it too.

Well take a look at this: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/12/aafeature1
What do you think?

i think the procolor bulb is UGLY...I wouldnt use one unless I had a 6bulb fixture and 5 of them where blue.
I had my procolor in my fixture for 1 day and I took it out never to use again. and its par is not that good

I have no plans for a Procolor and I don't like the looks of it.
I love the combo I have now, which is 2 Blue+, 1 Aquablue, 1 Fiji Purple.

What point were you trying to make with the article you linked?

Pro Color and Fiji Purple are basically the same purpose, it's just fiji purple is more red/blue when pro color is mostly red, and Fiji Purple has more par. The article says exposure to broad bandwidth red light resulted in low growth rates in corals (Kinzie et al., 1984) and that it induces bleaching

Are the jolly ranchers you get from reefeeks with your bulbs edible?

What are all you bulb switchers doing with your extra tubes?! Seems there is a lot of swapping out going on, mail some of your extras to me

2 blue+
2 10000k (original fishneedit)

The ATI blues are deeper blue than stock FNI bulbs. Ill be swapping the 10000k soon as funds are available....or you T5 surplus reefers pass them to me!

They look COMPLETELY different when placed in a T5 light combo.
To me the Procolor gives a flatter pinkish look to the whole aquarium, where the Fiji really makes reds and oranges POP, and brings out pretty much all colors really.
Don't confuse the visual effect of the bulb with the light spectrum that it puts out, and keep in mind that the Fiji Purple is just one part of the combined light spectrum that the corals are being exposed to.
I've noticed that different ballasts can effect the look of the bulb output somewhat, but with the Sundial I'm using right now, the light has a crisp white look with a hint of blue and a lot of POP in the coral's colors.

I got a twix and snickers..and I ate them right away..lol

Hazmat, get some fans to blow onto the TEK fixture if your gonna use the shield. It puts alot of heat back on the bulbs.

You still avoided the fact they they both put plenty of the red spectrum out, and that's what the last part of that article is about. And you haven't at all yet commented on that yet. Sure there is visual pop in the corals colors but what is it doing to its growth?

Wow, you trying to beat up on me or sumthin???
I've only had my T5HO since the beginning of this year.
Why don't we let someone who'd been using a Fiji Purple or Procolor bulb in their setup longer than me comment on how their corals are doing?
Masterbuilder?
Anyone else?

How am I trying to beat you up? I just don't like how your defending the Fiji Purple bulb when it's the red spectrum in which I'm trying to talk about. And I don't think it was me that started it since you caps locked a word just to stress it out when you aren't even talking about what my point is. I'm just saying how do you feel about the article and do you think it's true or not. And a person that has been using T5's for a while still won't know how well their corals are doing with/without the a bulb to pop the red spectrum unless they measured through with and without it. Just by seeing the growth, someone can say, "oh it's grown pretty fast" but he/she will never know if it will grow faster without the bulb or not.

^^^ You really need to chill a little bit, and I'm pretty sure you're misreading a few comments I've made.
Frankly, I haven't had the time to pore over that article in depth.
I'll comment on it when I've done so.
For the moment, I'll leave it open for other's who've had more experience in this area than I have to comment.
As far as that goes, have you had a lot of personal experience with T5HO or with using T5HO bulbs that utilize a lot of the red spectrum?
If so, state your experience and what you've learned.
If not, stop trying to take a chunk out of me and let those who are experienced share their knowledge.

Weetie pissed in his weeties.

I think everyone needs to calm down.

Haagenize: Most hobbyists are not going to go to great scientific accuracy to check for the growth rates with respect to different T5 bulb spectrums.

I do not have the pro color or the fiji purple, but this is a related site that indicates the red light theory may apply to the pro color, if not the fiji purple, also:
http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/t5spectrums.html

edit: one consideration is how much of the red light coming from the bulbs gets absorbed by the water before reaching the corals.

I do like my corals to grow nicely, wouldn’t mind if they looked good while doing it. So...if a spike in the red and blue spectrum gives me some of both...I am a happy guy.

There is also a study/article in the same magazine that says its not the color that matters, it the correct intensity and duration for max growth rates. Who it believe?

It seems to be accepted that a 10K lamp gives you higher growth rates than a 20K lamp. Yet the article states that the 10K lamp has the more red light than any others. Hummmm….. maybe it is some balance of color, intensity and duration that works best. IMO…color, while a factor, is the least important…. its the correct intensity and duration that matters. Just layman’s common sense.